Blue Stargate Festival – A First Year Successtival

It’s been a BLAZING summer festival tour for Blisstival. Blue Stargate Festival launched the season for us over the summer solstice in June. Blue Stargate was a first year festival and, by all accounts, was a major hit with attendees. Even with a location getting locked down just a couple of short months before the festival, everything came together like a psychedelic dream. Wonderful manifestivalers from ElectriCocoon and Cosmic Convergence joined forces to promote, staff, and build the event in amazing synergy, culminating in the construction of a giant Ark that doubled as the mainstage and an impressive art installation. Federal Agents rolled up in SWAT gear and SUV’s as the festival prepared to open the gates, creating a bit of an uncomfortable moment for those who had arrived early and remember the good ol’ days of desert raves raided and shut down. Fortunately, they were sent merrily on their way after the land owners and producers provided all the appropriate permitting and documentation – leading the parade of festival-goers arriving Wednesday night through the windy dirt roads that led to the event.

When it comes to transformational festivals, lineup isn’t everything – but it does help and the producers orchestrated an eclectic array of world DJs, artists, and under-hyped locals – some making their American debut or traveling from Europe, and in some cases, as far away as planet Mars (according to the schedule – and if you saw QUADE‘s set, you might actually believe it). With more than seven hundred attendees in its first year, and around 100 artists, performers and teachers – the fest was beyond intimate. It was absolutely one giant cozy family. The vibe was incredible – the arid patch of desert in Apple Valley and scorching sun bedded down most festival goers during the hottest hours of the day, Playa style, and the vibes rose as the sun set each day as artists including StellaMara, Antix, and Tara Putra lit the people up. Arguably one of the most energetic sets of the weekend, AHEE – a collective intelligence of self-aware vibrating beingnesses, including Blisstival soul family Chris Adams and Alex melted souls into a free-flowing, contact-improvving funk of pure, contagious alienness that – no, honestly, there is no describing this shit, you just need to check it out on Soundcloud and catch a set from them. Seriously.

Tv Broken 3rd Eye Open rocks the main stage “Ark”

All in all the festival was pretty awesome. We go to a lot of events, to say the least, and this one is already on our hit list for 2015. The land owners were happy with the event, producers, and staff and allowed for the stages and structures to be left on the land for next year’s event. Expect big things from Blue Stargate 2015, and expect it to sell out. This event will easily triple or quadruple attendance next year and might max out the permitting capacity for the venue/land when it does. Festival visionary and producer, Haig Khatchikian, alongside his brother and co-producer Varouj Khatchikian, have even let us in on some top secret classified information about a little something called “Yellow Stargate” (more information coming soon!). We can’t wait!